Solar Bikeshttp://gonano.eu
Sine Sole NihilMon, 05 Aug 2019 21:16:10 +0000en-GB
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.3https://i2.wp.com/gonano.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/cropped-1110218-e1518190375922.jpg?fit=32%2C32Solar Bikeshttp://gonano.eu
32321445490202019 Solar Bikes trip from France to Italy: we made it!http://gonano.eu/2019-solar-bikes-trip-from-france-to-italy-we-made-it
http://gonano.eu/2019-solar-bikes-trip-from-france-to-italy-we-made-it#commentsMon, 05 Aug 2019 20:59:01 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=3597This trip was planned since last year and finally we were able to ride with our solar bikes from France through Switzerland and Austria to Italy! In the page under the link here below is the complete itinerary we have been able to complete: in the next post I will also publish some videos with […]

]]>http://gonano.eu/2019-solar-bikes-trip-from-france-to-italy-we-made-it/feed33597Major upgrade of last year’s solar trikehttp://gonano.eu/here-is-how-i-have-upgraded-last-year-2018-tilting-solar-trike-with-new-more-efficient-solar-panels
http://gonano.eu/here-is-how-i-have-upgraded-last-year-2018-tilting-solar-trike-with-new-more-efficient-solar-panels#commentsMon, 27 May 2019 19:42:05 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2894After having worked on my new solar trike, it was time to go back to my first prototype I have used last year. These are the areas that needed to be upgraded: – solar panels: the old ones (2x100w) were performing very badly, from initial 155w I have seen when I first started using them […]

After having worked on my new solar trike, it was time to go back to my first prototype I have used last year.

These are the areas that needed to be upgraded:

– solar panels: the old ones (2x100w) were performing very badly, from initial 155w I have seen when I first started using them down to 80w at the end of the season.

– panels mounting frame:I have already repaired ‘on the road’ the old aluminium structure but it was still not robust enough to carry the weight of the solar panels without damaging the cells for the vibrations/shocks received.

– gear ratios: after having suffered a lot in the Alps last year I needed to revise the set up in order to facilitate the climbing capabilities of the bike.

So here below are the main activities that have been carried on to improve these three areas.

1) Solar Panels

Having had very good experience with the solar panels (from LinkSolar) I installed on the STT2, I decided to buy also the new ones from the same supplier.

The format of the old ones were 5×6 but I decided to get a slightly larger layout of 6×6: in this way the total length remained the same, only the width went from 65 to 80cm.

Here we can see the different solar panel solution of both bikes:

– on the left the new STT2 with tilting panels

– on the right the STT with (fixed) old panels

Here are the new solar panels just arrived: notice the new format 6×6 I have requested and that was specifically produced for my order!

The nominal peak power is announced to be 130W per solar panel

2) – Solar panels structure

Since I decided to upgrade my solar panels I have also planned to have them installed on a “tilting frame” as I have already implemented on the new STT2 bike.

And as a further challenge I wanted to use carbon fiber for this mounting structure instead of aluminium.

The sizes are as follows:

– the center carbon fiber axle is 160cm long with a 32cm diameter

– the square carbon fiber tubes are 80cm long with a 20x20mm section

Here below are some of the most significant steps to build the new mounting structure.

first lay out of both solar panels

first carbon fiber square tubes to be cut and prepared

Here all 7 square tubes are in place: the structure is ready to be installed on the bike

here are the new vertical supports to allow the tilting rotation and the main cylindrical (carbon fiber) axle

front right view of new support panels structure

here the solar panels structure is mounted on the new supports on the bike frame

3) – Gear ratios

Last but not least I have replaced:

– the front 52 teeth chainring with a 50 teeth one.

– the 11 speed cassette 11-32 with a 11-34.

With above set up the bike is much more agile and still the max speed I can reach is around 50km/h.

The combination of a smaller chainring and a bigger cassette, even if it’s only 2 teeth, is really very beneficial.

I am sure that on steep hills now I’ll be able to climb more easily and with less risk to overheat the “direct drive” hub motor.

The actual results in few weeks!

This is how the upgraded bike looks like.

In one of my next posts I will also report on the first test of these new Solar panels: I can just anticipate that they seem to really deliver the expected performances!

view from the front with solar panels completely tilted

capturing the last sunshine….from the front

….and from the back!

first tests to verify that the new solar panels structure is solid and keeps the selected position.

]]>http://gonano.eu/here-is-how-i-have-upgraded-last-year-2018-tilting-solar-trike-with-new-more-efficient-solar-panels/feed32894Finally some serious training with the 2019 solar trike!http://gonano.eu/finally-some-serious-training-with-the-2019-solar-trike
http://gonano.eu/finally-some-serious-training-with-the-2019-solar-trike#commentsThu, 23 May 2019 20:38:15 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2840Since the weather recently has not been very good, with some rain but also often with strong wind, I have not been able to do trainings as I wanted. Here I want to share two trips I have completed above 100kms: to Chartres: this is one of my favorites tours and I try to repeat […]

]]>http://gonano.eu/finally-some-serious-training-with-the-2019-solar-trike/feed22840Spezi 2019, we were there!http://gonano.eu/spezi-2019-we-were-there
http://gonano.eu/spezi-2019-we-were-there#commentsTue, 30 Apr 2019 20:15:25 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2689Last weekend we went to Germersheim for the Spezi exhibition to bring the last Solar Tilting trike. On Saturday we had the possibility to bring the trike to the Inventors area: we were 10 participants, elected from the jury to be present to show our new products and ideas. There were many visitors during the […]

]]>http://gonano.eu/spezi-2019-we-were-there/feed32689Initial tests…and first surprises!http://gonano.eu/initial-tests-and-first-surprises
http://gonano.eu/initial-tests-and-first-surprises#commentsWed, 27 Mar 2019 21:40:00 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2453This is my finished bike, the STT2. It stands for Solar Tilting Trike with Tilting panels, so we can say that it is ’tilting 2 times’ ! So as soon as I was able to finish my bike I wanted to start doing some tests. In the pictures here below we can see some shots taken […]

]]>http://gonano.eu/initial-tests-and-first-surprises/feed62453Solar tilting trike at Spezi 2019http://gonano.eu/solar-tilting-trike-at-spezi-2019
http://gonano.eu/solar-tilting-trike-at-spezi-2019#respondSun, 17 Mar 2019 22:22:13 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2392I always wanted to go to visit the SPEZI exhibit, the world’s largest show for recumbents, recumbent tricycles, folding cycles, tandems, family cycles, velomobiles, transporters, electrical bikes, customised designs and accessories… https://www.specialbikesshow.com/ This time I have decided to go to Spezi 2019 but not as a ‘simple’ visitor… but as an exhibitor! This […]

I always wanted to go to visit the SPEZI exhibit, the world’s largest show for recumbents, recumbent tricycles, folding cycles, tandems, family cycles, velomobiles, transporters, electrical bikes, customised designs and accessories…

This time I have decided to go to Spezi 2019 but not as a ‘simple’ visitor… but as an exhibitor!

This exhibit takes place every year in Germersheim (Germany) during the last weekend in April.

So if you want to see one of my Solar Tilting Trikes you can come to Spezi on April 27th and 28th and we will be happy to show all the technical features of this unique kind of solar bike, including the special tilting mechanism (patent pending) that is designed specifically for this prototype solution.

Here below is a quick presentation of the “Solar Bikes” I have designed and built which is going also to be included in the official exhibit catalogue.

]]>http://gonano.eu/solar-tilting-trike-at-spezi-2019/feed02392The new solar tilting trike is ready!http://gonano.eu/the-new-solar-tilting-trike-is-ready
http://gonano.eu/the-new-solar-tilting-trike-is-ready#commentsWed, 13 Mar 2019 21:14:37 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2289It has been a busy period and things have progressed but more slowly than expected. This was also due to some components that arrived late or/and with partial shipments…. In essence I have been working on these 3 sub-projects: 1) – design and build all the ‘rotating’ components to allow the solar panels to tilt […]

Here is the rotating element that is going to enable the rotation of the solar panels around the center axle.

Once again it was my friend Pierre who did help to obtain the cylindrical part using teflon as the basis: it is very strong and more important it can rotate with minimal friction.

The plastic support and the teflon cylindrical piece obtained with the lathe

Here the cylindrical part is positioned inside the lower support

Here it is shown as it’s going to be positioned on the supports on the frame

Since the central axle has a square shape, the teflon rotating part will need to be machined to obtain a square shape as well.

Example of the square shape to be obtained

the rotating part on the milling machine to obtain the inner square shape

I started to work on the central support on the bike frame.

The main challenges were:

to try to position it as forward as possible

with a ’round’ shape to allow the rotation of the solar panels

to avoid interference with the cyclists’s helmet

Here I am testing the distance between the support and my helmet

here the process to bend the aluminium support progressively….

…until it gets the rounded shape!

This is the final result: it is funny because it looks like a HEART!

seen from the front side

The final shape is tested for interference with my helmet…

Once positioned the central support it was easier to start to build the rear support and finally the front one. This is because the height of the central support was already determined and the others should have been positioned with same height from the ground: 117cm.

Here with the central axle to determine the exact position of the other 2 supports

The bike with the added rear support: note also all the structure which is necessary to raise the rear support

here it is the view from the back

….and here from the front right

Finally also the front support is positioned: here I am testing that the central axle is perfectly horizontal

This is a detail of the front support

Concerning solar panels there are 2 main changes:

after all the experiences in the last couple of years and having seen all other SunTrip solar bikes I decided to use in 2019 more powerful solar panels for a total of 300W.

After several experiments I have also decided to start using a “tilting approach” also for the solar panels: in fact in my previous tests (check this video on the right) I could prove that with this solution in certain conditions the marginal gain could be of 70% and more!

For those reasons I have used a new supplier (“Link Solar”) who was able to develop 2 solar panels with exactly the dimensions I needed: 6×8 cells, 150W and a size of 1070x800mm

Here below some of the main details concerning the solar panels solution

Here are the new solar panels just delivered, with a perfect packaging

Here are the technical characteristics

The weight of each panel is 2,3kg

Very good manufacturing quality: there is also a serial number!

First tests gave a total of 64,8 Volts (unloaded). Not bad for a winter day!

Here it is the test on the Current: 4,33 Amps (unloaded).

Here as a visual reference from the right: 140W in 2017, then 200W in 2018 and 300W for 2019!

Here we can see the different parts: 2 thin film solar panels, 2 aluminium sheets (0,8mm thickness) and a large foam sheet for vibration dampening. Total weight including aluminium frame = 9.5kg

This is the final result: the new Solar Tilting Trike with…Tilting panels!

]]>http://gonano.eu/the-new-solar-tilting-trike-is-ready/feed42289“Solar tilting trike” project continues….http://gonano.eu/new-2019-tilting-trike-project-continues
http://gonano.eu/new-2019-tilting-trike-project-continues#commentsTue, 26 Feb 2019 21:17:10 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=2201After having installed the FWD (Front Wheel Drive) transmission on my M5 bike I was able to do some tests and the result was encouraging. So it was possible to start the build of the new tilting mechanism. Unfortunately it was not possible to use exactly the same I used for the Raptobike. In fact […]

]]>http://gonano.eu/new-2019-tilting-trike-project-continues/feed62201New 2019 Solar Tilting Trikehttp://gonano.eu/new-2019-solar-tilting-trike
http://gonano.eu/new-2019-solar-tilting-trike#commentsWed, 02 Jan 2019 13:45:55 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=1960After all the experience gained last year with my Raptobike Tilting Trike, I started to lay down all the things that should be improved: It should be possible for solar panels to be oriented toward the sun in order to gain always maximum efficiency Solar power should be increased from current 200W, which has often […]

After all the experience gained last year with my Raptobike Tilting Trike, I started to lay down all the things that should be improved:

It should be possible for solar panels to be oriented toward the sun in order to gain always maximum efficiency

Solar power should be increased from current 200W, which has often resulted insufficient also for bad quality of solar panels, to 300W

Raptobike frame used in 2018 is pretty “high” which means that the center of gravity is negatively affected

Falco hub motor has been unfortunately quite poor in terms of:

ease of use

overheating in steep hills

regenerative braking sometimes not working

average consumption

setting for power parameters not very flexible

I also realized that my previous 2017 Solar Bike, based on a M5 recumbent bike, was laying in the back of the garage while may be it could have been re-used for my future projects…

The first obstacle for reusing this recumbent bike is that since it is a “rear wheel driven” bike I cannot install my tilting mechanism.

Therefore I started to design an upgrade to transform it into a “Front Wheel Drive” bike.

Below the first steps of this structural upgrade to FWD bike

M5 before upgrade

M5- Raptobike fork

M5- Raptobike fork 2

M5- Raptobike fork, wheel

M5- Raptobike fork, 26″ wheel

M5- Raptobike fork, 28″ wheel

M5- Raptobike fork, 28″ wheel

compare seating position height of Raptobike and M5

After few weeks of work, new parts installations (idlers, clamps) and tuning the new M5 FWD is ready to be tested!

Assembled M5 Front Wheel Drive

Assembled M5 Front Wheel Drive from the front

Assembled M5 Front Wheel Drive from the back

This is to show how the chain is located around the fork to implement the FWD architecture.

– First picture on the right: with the chain on the largest sprocket the actual chain line is perfect.

– Second picture: with the chain on the smallest sprocket there is practically no space with the fork: this happens only with the 11 teeth (seldom used…), so for the moment this is not going to be a real issue.

]]>http://gonano.eu/new-2019-solar-tilting-trike/feed41960Sushil becomes “80 days race” Ambassadeurhttp://gonano.eu/sushil
http://gonano.eu/sushil#commentsThu, 29 Nov 2018 17:16:37 +0000http://gonano.eu/?p=1797Few days ago I had the chance to participate to an event organized to introduce my friend Sushil Reddy as an ambassadeur of the “80 days race ” with Electric Vehicles around the world, planned for 2020: http://80dr.com/sushil-reddy/ In the video below can hear Sushil’s excitement and motivation to become an ambassadeur for this great event! By […]

Few days ago I had the chance to participate to an event organized to introduce my friend Sushil Reddy as an ambassadeur of the “80 days race ” with Electric Vehicles around the world, planned for 2020: http://80dr.com/sushil-reddy/

In the video below can hear Sushil’s excitement and motivation to become an ambassadeur for this great event!

By the way you will notice that there are also some quick shots of my solar bike taken during the interview….